The Global Urban Competitiveness Report 2019: Global Value Chains has seen Chinese cities enter the top ten ranking of global competitiveness for the first time. Shenzhen was ranked among the top five most economically competitive cities worldwide, with Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing among the top 20, according to a press release from UN-Habitat, which produced the report together with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The report looked at 1,038 cities worldwide and found that cities in high-income countries tend to be the most competitive. Urban competitiveness is defined as a city’s ability to attract resources, expand markets, create wealth and provide adequate welfare for its citizens.
While urban development is initially driven by economic growth, cities that perform strongly in the ranking – including Chinese cities – also have the potential to improve their sustainable competiveness.
“Cities at the top of the list in sustainable development are all mature cities which have been in existence for more than 100 years. We expect Chinese cities to get to that point soon,” said Marco Kamiya, coordinator of the Urban Economy Branch at UN-Habitat, who presented the report together with Professor Ni Penfei of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
